Not everyone is an expert in later-life care, and we often speak to people looking into care options who confuse these two distinct kinds of establishments. If you or a loved one are seeking options for your next home, we’d like to make the distinction clear for you to assist in this important next step in life.
Care for Your Specific Needs
A retirement residence is best suited for individuals who are active and independent but may also desire some help with things like meals, housekeeping and some personal support services like handling of medication or other minor help with their daily routine.
In a long-term care residence, people living there often require 24-hour nursing support to help manage complex medical needs or advanced stages of dementia and Alzheimer’s, and often activities of daily living including:
- Toileting
- Showering
- Dressing
- Eating
- Mobility
- Administering medication
- Other daily needs
The Role of Security in a Senior Home
In a retirement residence, older adults can come and go as they please, and are often encouraged to do so through various programs at their residence. They do also benefit from 24-hour security and emergency response should they ever need it.
In long-term care, residences provide secure environments in order to keep seniors safe and see to their medical and physical needs.
Key Financial Differences in Senior Home Options
In retirement homes in Oakville, and the rest of the province, residents are responsible for paying for their monthly rent, just as you would for any house, apartment or condo.
Long term care residences are partially funded by provincial governments—meaning the residents living in them have a portion of their monthly rent subsidized by the government, and the resident or theirfamily pay for the rest.
How to Find your Long-Term Care or Retirement Home in Oakville
To move into a retirement residence, individuals are welcome to inquire about availability at the retirement community they are interested in, and to tour the residence and make decisions (along with family and a nursing manager) about their care needs and what works best for them.
Admission into long-term care is coordinated by local health authorities (LHIN) and involves assessment by health practitioners, and then they are put on a waiting list. Current wait lists in Ontario’s Golden Horseshoe are 5-7 years. Those in a critical situation are on a shorter list, but waiting times are still critical. Once offered a space, family have 48 hours to accept or decline-if declining, their loved one’s name goes to the bottom of the list.
If you’d like to know more about what Queens Avenue Retirement Residence offers you can reach us at (905) 815-0862 xt 224, go to our Contact Us page, or take our Virtual Tour. We look forward to speaking with you.
